


Take Care

by lilithsins



Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: Confessions, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Fluff, M/M, Sickfic, bless this team, hinata is a treasure to us all
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-11-06
Updated: 2016-11-06
Packaged: 2018-08-29 08:58:18
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,747
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8483299
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lilithsins/pseuds/lilithsins
Summary: He was probably being unreasonable about still practicing when he knew that he shouldn't be, but the stubborn little boy in the back of his mind insisted that he was fine, that he could keep playing.That the team would be disappointed if he had to sit out.That he couldn't let them down.And everything was fine, it really was.Until it really wasn't.





	

**Author's Note:**

> Dedicated to my friend who knows who she is. Thanks for planting this plot bunny in my head, darling.
> 
> Disclaimer: I'm new to the fandom, so people may be ooc and there may be slight inaccuracies. I've never written these characters before, so pls have mercy ;;
> 
> (Sorry Suga)

_"I don't understand how I found a love so pure;_

_I'll take care of you._

_Have faith that when you call my name,_

_I'll be there._

_I'll be right there..."_

_-"Take Care", Copeland._

 

He'd denied it for as long as he could.

It had started the previous day, during morning practice. He'd noticed that he felt sort of…off. Weird. Any time his shirt rubbed his skin, someone touched him, or the ball smacked his hands, it hurt. A strange, aching pain, like his senses were turned up way too high and he was feeling too much. He had thought that it was nothing to worry about, that it was just fatigue and that it would go away on its own.

The feeling persisted throughout the day, and a heavy, obnoxious headache had soon followed during their lunch hour.

-

"Suga, are you alright?" Asahi's voice cut through the slight fog in his head, and he lifted his head from the desk slowly, blinking in the bright light. His lunch sat on his desk virtually untouched. He hadn't felt much like eating, even though he knew he should.

"I have a bit of a headache. Probably just tired from practice," he replied, leaning his chin on one hand and sighing. He flipped through his notes mindlessly; they had a math test in a few days. Daichi had diligently helped him study for it, so he felt fairly confident that he could make a good grade.

Asahi's big brown eyes met his and then immediately glanced to the side. "You do look sort of tired. Ah, no offense." The tall boy cracked his knuckles, rubbing them with his fingers, and Suga smiled inwardly at the nervous habit. 

It was true. Suga was exhausted. Even during practice, he'd felt slower than usual, like he was walking through a pillow. His limbs felt heavy and wooden, not properly responding to his brain's commands, and the aforementioned irritating sensation that danced along his skin with every movement was about to drive him nuts.

"I'll be fine. I'll go to bed early tonight." He gave Asahi a faint smile, laying his head back on the desk and clearing his throat, eyes slipping shut. He was hardly ever this tired at lunch. He flinched when he heard someone drop a book loudly on a desk and pain shot through his head. Why did everything hurt?

He could feel Asahi's eyes on him, but he didn't say anything else. Asahi was a ball of anxiety already, he didn't need Suga to worry about.

Later, as he was walking through the hall, he saw Asahi whispering to Daichi none-too-subtly, and the captain gave Suga a concerned look. He ducked his head and kept walking. Surprisingly, Daichi didn't follow.

He didn't want to worry him…besides, he wasn't sick.

Definitely not.

-

God dammit, he was sick.

Not only was he sick, it was just a stupid cold. He couldn't even feel justified skipping school.

He hadn't had a cold in…he had to think for a moment. Four or five years? He'd always been careful about washing his hands, not touching his mouth or nose or eating unless he knew his hands were clean. Tanaka called him a neat freak. Suga smugly said 'I told you so' every time Tanaka got sick. Tanaka was going to have a field day with this.

He groaned aloud as he slapped his alarm for the third time, and his voice rattled unnaturally in his chest, deeper than normal and abrasive. His eyebrows knitted and he sat up slowly, touching his chest lightly. What was _that?_ He coughed a couple of times, pressing his hand to his sternum and squeezing his eyes shut when his lungs contracted painfully with each cough, making a rather awful sound.

Maybe it was 'just a cold', but it was a bad one.

He had no time to make a doctor's appointment, and he couldn't miss the final day of test review…

He made a pitiful noise for his own ears only and forced himself out of bed. _Suck it up, you'll be fine,_ he told himself.

-

His breath hung in the air in front of his mouth as he stood outside the club room, fumbling with his keys with shaky fingers. God, he was cold. He was also a bit late, which was hugely uncharacteristic for him, and he knew the team would probably be worried. He managed to get the keys in the lock and turn it, but dropped them as he pulled them out, and they hit the ground with a musical clink.

As he moved to bend down and reach for the keys, another hand made it to them first. He looked up into Asahi's kind face, half hidden by a soft scarf.

"Here," he handed the keys to Suga, and he took them shamefacedly.

"Th--" Suga's voice caught in his throat and he coughed, covering his mouth with his own scarf. "Thanks," he croaked, and was inwardly shocked. He didn't know his voice had sounded _that_ bad. If it got any worse, he may lose it.

A look of concern slowly drifted across Asahi's face, drawing his eyebrows downward. "You sound sick," he murmured.

"Ah…just a cold," Suga rasped, waving him off and dropping off his school bag. "I'm fine." Talking felt horrible, and he tried not to let the pain show on his face. He quickly changed into his practice gear, shivering in the cold. It was late October and starting to get fairly nippy in the mornings.

Asahi had never looked more unconvinced, but he said nothing, his normally docile face tense with worry. He knew how stubborn Suga was sometimes.

Suga swept past him down the steps, not wanting to worry him any more. 

He would be fine.

-

"Morning, Suga-san," Tanaka called from the court as he walked through the door. He lifted his hand and gave what he hoped was a convincing smile, but Tanaka did a double take nonetheless. _Probably because I look like death warmed over,_ Suga thought with an inward cringe. Hinata and Nishinoya gave him a similar greeting, but when he caught Daichi's eye, the captain's face grew serious and he started toward him. _Shit._

Yachi intercepted him, chirping a "good morning, Sugawara-san, how are you?", and crap, he was going to have to answer her…

"Good morning, Yachi-san, I'm fine," he managed to reply, but his voice nearly cracked and left him completely, and he resisted the urge to dive through the floor at how obvious his lie was. Yachi gave him a concerned look, but didn't say anything and went about her duties.

"You're fine, huh?"

Suga jumped with a hoarse squeak, startled, and guiltily turned toward Daichi, who had somehow gotten behind him. His captain had that no-nonsense look on his face, like a parent catching their child in a lie.

"Daichi, don't _do_ that," he wheezed, holding his chest, "my heart is fragile."

"You sound like shit," Daichi said bluntly.

"I…I what now?"

Daichi's expression darkened, but Suga could see the worry hidden in his chestnut brown eyes. "You're sick, Suga. You should be home." His voice was gentle, placating. Suga couldn't stop the frown that crossed his face.

"I'm not sick, I'm just a little…under the weather," he argued, inwardly facepalming when his voice grated in his windpipe and he tried not to scrunch his face up at the pain. He sounded awful, he couldn't deny that. But he felt relatively okay. Ish.

Daichi crossed his arms over his broad chest, looking torn between amusement and exasperation. "Uh huh." He opened his mouth to say something else, but Tanaka popped up behind him, narrow-eyed and grinning.

"Damn, Suga-san, you sound like my 90 year old grandmother. I didn't think you were capable of getting sick, considering how many times a day you bathe in hand sanitizer," Tanaka said loftily.

"At least I don't have a cold every few months from chewing my dirty fingernails like a savage." Suga tipped his lips up in a smirk in spite of how bad he felt, and sounded. His voice was starting to whistle, it was so far gone. He was definitely going to lose it.

Tanaka crowed. "You really are sick! End times are upon us!"

Daichi scowled darkly at Tanaka, who barely looked chastened as he dodged the hand that Daichi swiped at him. "Not helping, cue ball."

Tanaka clutched at his chest dramatically. "You're too cruel, Sawamura-san. I was just kidding."

Suga slipped away from them and chose to ignore the look of frustration Daichi shot him as he walked away.

He wasn't going to miss practice because of a stupid cold.

The monotony of the practice drills managed to distract Suga for a while, and he let his mind wander. He was probably being unreasonable about still practicing when he knew that he shouldn't be, but the stubborn little boy in the back of his mind insisted that he was fine, that he could keep playing.

That the team would be disappointed if he had to sit out.

That he couldn't let them down.

And everything was fine, it really was.

Until it really wasn't.

\--

"Daichi, nice serve!"

Suga shook himself out of his foggy thoughts. Right, practice match. Focus.

Ball, volleying back and forth. 

Okay, fine, he was feeling worse, way worse than this morning. Maybe he should own up…

Chance ball, incoming.

 _Asahi likes his tosses a little high,_ he thought blearily, and raised his heavy arms. It felt like he was moving underwater.

Ah, why did his head feel light--

He tossed as best he could, swaying on his feet.

Oh, shit.

Vision going dark.

Well, at least Asahi had made the point.

"Suga-san?"

He dimly heard Hinata's voice before he went down.

-

Daichi served the ball, reveling in the loud smack of leather against his hand. His eyes followed the ball across the net, where Nishinoya received it, bouncing it to Kageyama. The tall boy tossed to his tiny, red-haired partner, and Tsukishima managed to soft block the vicious quick, and Hinata scowled competitively, brushing his flaming hair from his sweaty forehead. Daichi's chest swelled with pride. Tsukishima had gotten much better at blocking.

"Chance ball!" Tanaka yelled, passing the ball to Suga. Suga tossed to Asahi, and the ace spiked the ball hard over the net, right over Hinata's head. The redhead let out an excited "whooaaaaa!", starry-eyed and forgetting to be disappointed that the other team had gained a point. Daichi barely had time to grin and clap Asahi on the back before the smile fell from Hinata's face and his tiny voice raised in alarm.

"Suga-san?"

Daichi's gaze darted to Suga. His vice-captain swayed dangerously, stumbled backward.

He had no time to react as Suga fell to the floor, and the dull thud of his head hitting the floor shot Daichi through the chest.

"Shit," he heard Ukai spit from the sidelines, and Takeda-sensei gasped.

"Suga-san!" Hinata cried, ducking under the net. Daichi barely heard him over the roar in his head as he and Ukai rushed to Suga's limp form. He swiftly knelt down next to the unconscious boy, gathering his upper body into his arms, and his stomach twisted a little at the way Suga's head lolled against his shoulder, arms limp like a discarded ragdoll. His face was deathly pale, except for his cheeks, which were abnormally flushed.

"Suga-san…?" Tanaka wasn't smiling for once.

"Sugawara-san!" Yachi wailed, clinging to Shimizu, whose slate blue eyes were wide.

"What the hell, he fainted?" Tsukishima.

"Suga!" Asahi sounded terrified.

"Is he okay?" Yamaguchi wrung his hands.

Random exclamations from the team surrounded him. Suga's eyes were glassy, but at least they were open, though half-lidded and staring at nothing. 

"Calm the fu--the hell down! Give him some air," Ukai barked, censoring himself at the last second, and the team obediently moved back a few feet. Hinata's eyes were huge and he looked about ready to cry, and Kageyama, face pinched, held an arm across his chest to keep him from running to Suga. Even Tsukishima looked mildly concerned. Nishinoya was pale, hands tightening and relaxing like he wanted to help and didn't know how.

Asahi knelt next to them, his expression pained. "I knew he wasn't as fine as he was claiming," he fretted, peering down at Suga's face; he seemed to be coming around, blinking confusedly in the bright gym lights.

"What…wh-…" Suga whispered, barely audible over the worried murmuring of the other boys. "How did…" his chest rose and fell rapidly, breath rasping in his chest.

Ukai pursed his lips, his brow furrowed. "He sounds awful."

Takeda-sensei knelt next to Ukai, leaning over Suga in Daichi's arms. He laid his hand on Suga's forehead, like a father would with a sick child. "He's burning up," the teacher said worriedly.

Daichi gently laid the back of his hand on one of Suga's flushed cheeks. God, he _was_ burning up. He definitely had a fever, and a pretty high one, too.

"Suga?" He said quietly, noticing some of the focus come back to the hazel eyes.

Suga blinked slowly, then covered his eyes with one hand. "I just…passed out in front of the entire team, didn't I." It wasn't a question, but a statement punctuated with embarassment.

Takeda patted his shoulder lightly. "Now, now. You're okay. Sawamura-kun, will you take him to the nurse's office?"

"Of course," Daichi murmured as he helped Suga into a sitting position. The boy pressed a trembling hand to his forehead, swaying even while sitting and looking a little ill. Ukai nodded, waving the other boys back and barking out orders, and Takeda followed with one more concerned glance back at Suga. Daichi couldn't help but be amused as the team grumbled worriedly, shifting on their feet.

Suga looked a little more steady now. "Can you stand?" He asked Suga softly.

"I think so…"

Daichi helped him up slowly, pulling one of Suga's arms around his broad shoulders. "Doesn't hurt to be careful." He carefully led Suga out the door, hearing Ukai yell behind him, overly cheerful.

"Oi, you all look like lost children! Calm down and do some drill spikes or something, he'll be just fine, I promise."

Daichi huffed out an incredulous laugh once they were out the door, and his breath hung in the air. "You're unbelievable. So stubborn over something as small as being sick."

Suga didn't answer him.

-

The school nurse, an older woman with salt and pepper hair, had immediately wanted to send him home, of course. He had quite a high fever, and his voice was rapidly deteriorating. The nurse had determined that he'd probably just passed out because he got overheated, and had given him a cold cloth for his forehead and a surgical mask to cover his nose and mouth.

"I'll contact your mother," she said kindly, stepping out of the room and leaving Daichi and Suga alone, Suga lying in one of the cots, Daichi seated beside him in a chair.

Daichi sighed, rubbing his face. "How is your voice?" Suga had been quiet for a while, and Daichi was beginning to think that he was put off by the comment that he'd made a few minutes ago about being stubborn.

The boy pulled his mask down and opened his mouth to speak, but all that came out was a pitiful, croaking squeak. His expression twisted in pain and he held his throat. He settled for shaking his head quickly, replacing the mask. Daichi felt awful for him.

The captain leaned forward, hesitated for a couple of seconds, then laid a gentle hand on one shoulder, stroking gently with his thumb. Suga stiffened for only a moment, then relaxed, closing his eyes resignedly.

"You're something else, you know that? It's not that big of a deal to be sick, you know," Daichi muttered, though good-naturedly. Suga cracked a hazel eye open and side-eyed him. He reached for a marker that lay on the side table and reached for the captain's hand, and Daichi amusedly let him. Suga wrote quickly and neatly, then capped the marker. Daichi tried not to be mildly offended at the words that had been written on his palm.

_Last time you were sick, you were a total baby._

Daichi sniffed. "I was not." He rubbed his hands together to dispel the ink.

Suga's eyes crinkled at the corners in a telltale smile, despite how bad he must have felt. Daichi couldn't help but smile back ruefully. Suga looked lovely even when he was ill and wearing a surgical mask. He reached out a hand to smooth the ash blond hair away from Suga's forehead, careful not to displace the cold cloth as he combed his fingers through the silky locks. Suga reached over and very gently rested a shaky hand on Daichi's knee, and it made the captain's heart hurt a little.

"I'm sorry you're so sick. Wish I could help you feel better," Daichi said quietly, laying his hand over Suga's smaller one, and the smooth, cold hand turned over to lace their fingers together, squeezing weakly. Suga was putting on a brave face, but Daichi could see the hazy pain in his eyes. It made him feel protective, made him wish he could take the sickness away from his vice-captain. 

Suga turned his hand over and grabbed the marker again, scrawling out a quick _you're sweet_ on his palm. Daichi's heart skipped a beat, and Suga looked down, eyes hooded by dusty eyelashes, cheeks flushed with something other than fever.

"Not as sweet as you," Daichi mumbled, feeling his ears burn at the words. He wasn't used to voicing affection, and it was doing funny things to him.

Suga's eyes crinkled in a smile again, then he closed them and coughed harshly. He rubbed the ink off of Daichi's hand and wrote again. _Wash your hands, okay? Don't get sick._

Daichi laughed, stroking Suga's hair again. "Will do."

\--

The next day, Suga was predictably absent, and practice was much quieter than usual. Hinata in particular seemed genuinely worried that Suga was deathly ill, and Kageyama exasperatedly told him that "no, dumbass, people don't die from colds, he just fainted cause he got too hot, stop worrying and focus".

Daichi had copied two pages of notes to take to Suga for their test that he would have to take the following week. The teacher had taken one look at him the day before and dismissed him, saying that he could take the test the next week instead of Friday, and Suga had been so relieved and grateful that Daichi had thought he was going to cry for a second.

As he was leaving to drop by Suga's house and take him the notes, Hinata stopped him under an alcove and enthusiastically shoved a bright pink envelope into Daichi's hands, asking him to give it to Suga and apologizing for the color, "cause it was the only color they had, I hope it's okay!" Daichi just laughed and promised to deliver it safely to Suga, and Hinata had trotted off with a bright smile on his face.

When Daichi knocked on the Sugawaras' door, he was unsurprised to see Suga's mother open the door instead of Suga himself. The petite, middle-aged woman smiled up at him, wiping her hands on her lavender apron.

"Sawamura-kun, come in," she spoke in her soft voice, tucking an errant strand of white blonde back into the bun at the nape of her neck, "Koushi is upstairs in his room. Do you want me to give him the notes for you, or…?"

Daichi fought back his blush. "I'd like to say hi, if it's okay. If he's not feeling up to it, I can--"

"No, no, I just thought you wouldn't want to risk getting sick. Feel free, but he still can't speak. The conversation may be a little one-sided, but I know he'll be glad to see you." She smiled. He bowed respectfully and slipped his shoes off at the door, tip toeing up the steps when he saw Suga's father sacked out in his recliner, covered with an old quilt and snoring away. He could smell some sort of savory soup simmering away on the stove, and it made the house feel warm and welcoming.

He reached the top of the stairs and turned down the hall to Suga's room, lightly tapping his knuckles on the wood of the door frame. He poked his head in the door to see Suga, still wearing a face mask, lying on his side on his futon reading a book, surrounded by several crumpled tissues and a mug of something hot, judging from the wisps of steam curling from the cup. Suga's tired eyes lit up slightly, and he reached for a small dry-erase board that rested next to him on the sheets. He wrote swiftly, then held it up so Daichi could see.

_You came to see me? Aw._

Daichi held up the pages, waving them slightly. "Also to give you these."

Suga wiped the board, then wrote again. _Well that's slightly less exciting, but thank you for doing that._

Daichi chuckled, folding his long legs as he sat down, setting the pages on the edge of the futon. "Feeling any better?"

 _No, not really. I still have fever and I can't talk. If I even try, it hurts._ Suga made a displeased face and touched his throat, and Daichi made a sympathetic noise and squeezed Suga's shoulder.

"Hope you get better soon. The team missed you a lot, it wasn't the same without you." Daichi reached into his bag. "Hinata told me to give you this." He pulled out the bubblegum pink envelope and Suga perked up in interest, taking it. He delicately separated the glue of the seal to keep from having to tear it, and the action made Daichi smile. Suga peered into the envelope, then pulled out a card with the words "FOR SUGA-SAN" in Hinata's obvious (slightly messy) handwriting on the cover, along with several stickers of stars and volleyballs. The vice-captain opened the card and his eyes widened in surprise.

Tiny, drawn caricatures of the entire Karasuno volleyball team covered the inside of the card, all in various poses, some holding signs that read things like 'get well' and 'we miss you', written in Ennoshita's neat hand. The tiny Hinata was balanced on grumpy little Kageyama's head with an excited expression, and chibi Nishinoya and Tanaka were arm in arm holding their signs. The little Asahi was drawn holding a cup of tea out to the viewer, as if handing it to them, with a shy smile on his face. Tsukishima, Yamaguchi, Ennoshita, Narita, and Kinoshita were all holding one big sign that said 'drink plenty of water and take your medicine!', and even in chibi form, Tsukishima looked saltier than the Dead Sea. Even Ukai and Takeda had been drawn, the Ukai with a tiny cigarette in his mouth and giving a thumbs up, and Takeda holding his clipboard. The tiny Daichi was in the middle of them all, waving and smiling brightly. The message at the bottom of the card was also written by Ennoshita; he had the neatest handwriting of all of them, so he'd probably been volunteered.

 _We all miss you, Suga-san! (Even Tsukishima even though he won't say he does) Practice won't be the same without you, so get well soon, okay? Oh, and get plenty of rest! Don't worry about us, just focus on getting better!_ The message had obviously been dictated by Hinata, and Ennoshita had just done the writing. Near the bottom of the card were the words 'art by Nishinoya', along with all of their signatures.

"Wow," Daichi stared at the card, marveling at how detailed the chibis were drawn, how accurately they embodied their real life counterparts. "I had no idea Nishinoya could draw. That's great." Suga made a soft sound, and Daichi was a little alarmed to see tears rolling down his cheeks, dampening the face mask. "Hey, you okay?" Suga sniffled hard, too hard evidently, because he coughed roughly as a result of it. He sniffled a little more carefully, scrubbing his eyes and reaching for his board again.

_I love our team so much. What did I do to deserve such a wonderful card?_

Daichi nodded, understanding. "They care about you, Suga. You're their vice-captain, and their senpai. I've heard Tanaka and Nishinoya call you 'Team Mom' before, when they thought I wasn't listening. You're very important to them." He smiled gently when Suga buried his face in his hands, letting out a few weak, muffled sobs. Daichi reached out and hesitantly touched his shoulder, and Suga scooted closer, snaking his arms around Daichi's waist and pressing his cheek to his abdomen, quietly sniffling. 

He sifted his fingers through Suga's tousled hair, his own throat tightening a little. "You really hate this, don't you. Being sick." Suga nodded against his stomach, making another soft, sad little noise. Daichi sighed, brushing his thumb over the beauty mark next to Suga's left eye. "I'm sorry you feel so bad. I would take it away if I could." He caught another tear as it fell, brushing it away tenderly.

They stayed like that for several minutes, and Daichi thought that Suga had fallen asleep. Instead, he sat up, reaching for his board.

 _Guess I'm the baby this time, huh?_ He looked a little ashamed. Suga didn't cry very often.

Daichi shook his head. "You feel pretty horrible. It's nothing to be ashamed of." Suga scrawled out a _thank you_ and hesitated, then drew a tiny heart next to it, looking down and blushing furiously. Daichi's heart may or may not have melted a little.

"I should go, you're probably tired out, and you need your rest." Daichi moved to get up, but Suga caught his wrist, his eyes pleading, and he wrote quickly.

_Will you stay until I fall asleep?_

Daichi's face relaxed into a soft smile. "Of course."

Suga shifted to lie down, then stopped, picking up the board even though he had just set it down. _When this is over, when I'm recovered, can I_ he stopped writing and erased the last two words, obviously struggling internally with something, and he glanced at Daichi, cheeks pink. "Can you what?" Daichi pressed gently, and Suga wrote quickly and dropped the marker, covering his face with both hands.

_will you kiss me?_

Daichi's mouth fell open, and he stared at the words. "Suga…" They had been dancing around the subject of their mutual attraction for months, but Daichi had never dared to hope that Suga would ever like him back enough to _kiss_ him. "You…really mean that?" Suga nodded slowly, and Daichi took his hands and pulled them away from his face, squeezing very gently. "O-of course, I'd…I'd like that a lot." He murmured, finding the fabric of the futon very, very interesting. Suga tipped his chin up with a light touch, and Daichi's heart did a little tap dance at the look in Suga's eyes; the hazel orbs were alight with something innocent and pure, something Daichi could only describe as…

…love.

Suga wrote again. _I like you. A lot._ It was so simple, but it said so, so much. Daichi blushed and stuttered.

"I-I like you, too." He finally managed to get out his words, and Suga's eyes brightened a little, even though they were heavy with sleepiness. He scooted back onto his futon, and Daichi shifted to rest on his side propped up on one elbow. Suga scrawled a quick _I'm glad_ , and snuggled down into his pillow, yawning through his mask. Daichi reached out to touch Suga's cheek, hesitated for half a second, then leaned down and dropped a quick kiss on the top of his ash blond hair. Suga squeaked and hid his face in his pillow, groping for the marker. He blindly drew a wobbly blushing emoji and Daichi laughed. 

"You're cute, Suga," he said, and Suga lifted his head to smile wearily at Daichi through his mask. He laid his head back down on the pillow and Daichi pulled the sheets up around his shoulders, stroking his thumb lightly over Suga's cheekbone. "Get some good rest," he whispered as Suga's eyes drifted shut, and his vice-captain nodded groggily. He was asleep within seconds.

Daichi shook his head in wonder. Suga liked him. This angel of a human being, with his beautiful hair haloing around his head on the pillow, his long eyelashes fanning out on his cheeks, his pretty lips hidden from view behind his mask… _liked_ him.

Wow.

He smiled softly. Suga was his rock, his foundation. His shoulder to cry on when he had a bad day, his best friend who never gave up on him. Daichi had wanted to properly ask him out one day, but it seemed that Suga hadn't wanted to wait, and had taken matters into his own hands. 

_I like you. A lot._

Daichi couldn't wait to hear the words from Suga's lips, free from the rasp of sickness.

He gazed down at his sleeping friend, something warm and protective welling up in his chest.

Yeah, he couldn't wait.

\--

-The next week-

"You guys go on ahead, I'll put these away," Suga insisted, waving the rest of the team away as he pushed the ball cart to the closet. He took a deep breath, relishing the ease with which he did so, and smiling as he heard the familiar sounds of excited chatter and squeaks of shoes against the floor behind him. Hinata and Kageyama argued, Tanaka and Nishinoya were sobbing dramatically over something Shimizu said, Tsukishima and Yamaguchi were walking side by side…

Normalcy. It was so nice. One of the things you didn't miss until you didn't have it anymore. It felt so _good_ to finally feel good again.

He'd been sick for an entire week, much longer than he'd previously thought he would be. Daichi had come to see him every day, and had helped him stay caught up on homework. His mother had elbowed him in the ribs several times, asking him 'is your friend coming to see you today?' and wiggling her eyebrows, then laughing when his face flushed. He knew that her teasing came from a loving place, though, so he managed to be only mildly mortified that he was so transparent.

More than anything, he was glad to have his voice back, because some things needed to be said, even if he was still a little bit hoarse.

"Actually, Daichi, could you come here? I forgot to ask you something." He kept his voice deceptively casual, and Daichi turned around at the door, a question in his eyes. Ukai handed him the keys so he could lock up, shoving between his shoulders with a wink, and suddenly they were the last ones in the gym. Suga inclined his head toward the closet, and Daichi followed silently.

Suga rolled the cart into its place in the closet, pausing until he knew that Daichi was behind him, and turned around, looking up into inquisitive brown eyes. A look of realization crossed Daichi's face, and a blush spread across his cheeks.

"S-Suga?"

His feet drew him closer to Daichi, so close that he could smell him. He smelled like clean sweat and some sort of woodsy-smelling deodorant, and Suga fought the urge to surge forward and bury his nose in Daichi's shirt. Instead, he hesitantly reached up to touch Daichi's cheek, suddenly very nervous. He'd only done this once before, and it was years ago.

"Daichi, will you kiss me?" The words left his mouth of their own accord, quiet in the empty room, hovering between them. Daichi's eyes widened a little.

"I thought you were never going to ask me that," his captain breathed out in obvious relief, and Suga huffed out a slightly raspy laugh. All hesitation gone, Daichi cradled Suga's face in his hands, tilting it up, and leaned down, pressing their lips together softly. Suga's eyes slipped shut and he smiled against Daichi's lips; they were warm, much softer than he thought they would be, and they felt so _right_. He leaned into the kiss, resting his hands on Daichi's forearms, and he let out a surprised, pleased sound when Daichi tilted his head, deepening the kiss and causing something foreign and warm to bubble up inside Suga's abdomen.

He moaned into Daichi's mouth as he felt his tongue nudge his lips open ever so slightly, and without thinking, he opened his mouth into the kiss and slid his hands up Daichi's chest. Strong arms snaked around his waist, and he felt the rumble under his palms as Daichi let out a sound he'd never, ever heard his captain make.

Just as Suga was getting a little lightheaded, Daichi pulled back, panting and looking flushed and dazed, and it made Suga's stomach drop. He stared at Daichi's lips; they were reddened from the kiss and shiny with their saliva.

Suga swallowed hard, willing himself to calm down.

"You okay?" Daichi asked him softly, and Suga nodded slowly. He looked down, abashed.

"Got a little carried away. I'm sorry," he whispered, and Daichi breathed out a laugh.

"Wasn't just you." He leaned his forehead against Suga's. "We can always…continue it another time," he wouldn't meet Suga's gaze, staring down at the floor and blushing deeper. Suga's heart thrilled a little at the implication.

"I'd like that," he said softly, playing idly with the fabric of Daichi's shirt. They both laughed a little nervously, untangling themselves from each other and walking out of the closet. _Ha._ Suga snorted inwardly.

As Daichi locked the door to the gym, then turned around and held out his hand shyly, Suga placed his hand in his captain's slightly larger one, and it fit so perfectly and warmly.

"Walk you home?" Daichi asked, and Suga nodded firmly, a wide smile spreading across his face.

Hand in hand with his captain, Suga had never been happier.

"Hey, Daichi," Suga said as they walked. Daichi turned to him, his handsome, tanned face bathed in the pink-orange glow of sunset.

"Yeah?"

"I like you. A lot."

And the bashful smile Daichi gave him made his heart sing.

"I like you, too."

**Author's Note:**

> I've been sick for the past week, so what better way to cope than to make my faves suffer a little? (ﾉ◕ヮ◕)ﾉ*:・ﾟ✧
> 
> This was really fun to write. I'm convinced that Suga is an actual angel.
> 
> Comments are always highly appreciated!
> 
> I'm on Tumblr @sterlinglilith <33


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